Roundtable: Revisiting Old Favourites

Hallyu is incredibly fast paced, with something new turning up for our consumption almost constantly. However, every now and then we come across something old that we had once enjoyed, but forgotten about over time. Revisiting these old favourites and remembering the joy we felt the first time we discovered them is nostalgia of the best kind.

What old favourite from years past have you rediscovered recently?

Lindsay:This actually comes at a fortuitous time. I was just going back through my old playlists this week and having my own little nostalgia fest.

My journey into the past brought me back to that gem of a song “Supa Luv” by Teen Top. Now, to be honest, I hate this music video. I don’t think Teen Top has ever or will ever look worse than they did in that MV, but the song is just downright catchy. I will keep going back for another helping of that soup of love. This is basically how I feel about Teen Top singles in general, they never get old.

On a more serious note, I’ve been in a SS501 mood recently. Although I wasn’t a K-pop fan during their debut I have since gained a great appreciation for their mature sexiness and sultry vocals. My three go-to tracks from them are “Love Ya,”“Love Like This,” and “Ur Man.” These aren’t songs I have in my regular playlist rotation, but every once in a while I just get the urge to hear them and I’m never disappointed.

Joyce: In March, I watched FT Island live although I’m only a casual fan and don’t actually have any songs other than “Severely” and “Madly” on my playlist. However, the concert reignited my admiration for their magnificent releases; those that stuck in my head for days after the concert — “I Wish,” “I Confess,” “Hello Hello” and “I Hope.” Also, did I mention that because of my recommendation, my friend will actually be using “I Confess” for his wedding proposal?

Recapping This is Infinite also sparked major feels, and increased my anticipation for their (sadly postponed) comeback. While most of Infinite songs largely remain on my playlist, Sung-gyu‘s “60 Seconds” is the only one that survived out of his Another Me album. Hearing Myung-soo say that he’s recently been addicted to “41 Days” made me once again pick up Sung-gyu’s solo album to swim in his sweet voice. Not to mention I practically marathoned Infinite’s Weekly Idol episodes, just because Sung-gyu rules at Random Dance Player.

Oh yes, and somehow YouTube always recommends me TVXQ variety shows. So I sat through for the nth time TVXQ’s Saipan Vacation (Oh my god sun!), and their multiple guest appearances on X-Man (Bitter cola). Can we please play the Of Course game in some form on Seoulbeats?

Laverne: Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Beast, particularly their “Bad Girl,”“Shock,” and “Mystery” days. Its interesting to look back at their discography and see how their style has evolved throughout the years, especially since their latest releases haven’t been up to par. While I’m not holding my breath for another Fiction and Fact, I’d love to see them expand upon their brief Midnight Sun EP.

I’ve also been watching a lot of old MBLAQ variety on YouTube. Lee Joon never fails to crack me up and watching old clips of him makes me wonder why I ever took him off my bias list. MBLAQ needs another variety show stat!

Ambika: Every so often I randomly start watching old Star Golden Bell episodes, mainly due to random YouTube recommendations. The show was one of the first variety shows I watched upon entering K-pop, so it brings me back. I can also recognize several more celebrities in the show now than before. Seeing Ji Suk-jin regularly get one-up on others is a particular joy since he doesn’t get that opportunity much in Running Man.

And I’m seconding the Of Course game. Way back when I found this account that only had subbed cuts of that game from X-Man, and I spent a good amount of time running through them, regardless of if I actually knew who the two were or not. I would have watched whole episodes of just that game. YouTube still brings them up, and I watch them for a good laugh.

Nicole:There’s nothing quite like rediscovering music that I used to listen to on loop until I got sick of it, so randomly having Tablo’s Fever’s End album come on shuffle was a pleasant surprise. Back then I had heard of Epik High but never actually checked out their music — it wasn’t until I somehow ended up with a copy of Fever’s End as a gift and liked it so much that I began delving into their discography and obsessively looking up the English translations of their lyrics. Also, I admit that I still screech along to Taeyang’s “No no no no more tomorrowwww” in his collaboration track with Tablo whenever it comes on, because it’s strangely addictive that way.

For another blast to the past a sudden urge to rewatch Goong (Princess Hours) recently allowed me to revisit my Very First Korean Drama. Maybe it’s age, but I find Yul more attractive now than I did back in 2006, although my favourite character still has to be our plucky heroine Chae-kyung. Admittedly it feels weird to see pre-Running ManSong Ji-hyo too. The Goong soundtrack is also worth a re-listen.

Lo:I’m weird in that while my top album choices tend to stay the same, the songs I play over and over change. For instance, I’ve spent the last couple months with “Me, In” at the top of my Most Played list, but “Stop!” is launching an hostile takeover. 2NE1‘s first EP is also creeping up there, aided by the marching band sound of “Pretty Boy.”

Idelle:I’ve been watching Jay Park‘s old Immortal Song 2 performances quite a bit, and I’d forgotten just how kickass some of those dance routines are. Jay was far from being the most vocally talented on the show, but the expressiveness through movement was startling — there was this performance of “Empty Glass” in particular in which the finale routine was stunningly emotional and told a story all on its own. Jay really is one of the most creative and expressive dancer/choreographers out there — more than anything else, he truly grasps the soul and heart of what the song is trying to express, and conveys it so beautifully through movement.

Also, a video of Jay and Hyuna dancing this seriously hot routine on Star King in 2009 made me miss the old school idol group collabs with a very deep and profound intensity. I suppose the idol heyday of 2008-2009 counts as old school nowadays, doesn’t it?

Gaya:I was listening to a certain digital radio station the other day when SNSD‘s “Run Devil Run” came on. This was my first ever K-pop song, so the wave of nostalgia that hit me was especially strong. My first shock over the number of members in a pop group, first wonder over the dance moves, first swoon over Jessica‘s hair… Who would have thought that rather basic yet somehow alluring video would lead to this?